The Protective Behaviour of Titanium Nitride Coatings

Abstract

The experiments conducted to obtain a thin layer of nitride through the vapour chemical deposition method have followed an original path to obtain TiN directly in the working room thus avoiding the import of these hazardous substances. In this paper, the protective behaviour of titanium nitride coatings onto hard carbide substrate was investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and Knoop hardness. Scanning Electron Microscope was used to investigate the coating morphology and interface structure. X-ray mapping was also performed to characterize the elements in a semi-quantitative analysis. Dron X-ray diffractometer with Mo Kα radiation operating was used for phase(s) identification. Microhardness value (Knoop hardness) measured in the coating layer was 28.000 MPa. CVD TiN coatings usually show only moderate or even poor corrosion protection for hard carbide substrates.